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Shakdam, in an exclusive interview with FNA, said that Saudi Arabia wants “to destroy the very idea of Yemen as a sovereign nation” to ensure its own rule being the sole prevailing power in the region.

The analyst believes that the patient and resilient Yemeni people, backed by their own history and civilization, have already won the war against Saudi Arabia who has spent billions of dollars to buy military technology and mercenaries.

Catherine Shakdam is a political analyst, writer and commentator for the Middle East with a special focus on Yemen. She is the director of programs at Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies and has been interviewed by international news outlets such as RT, CGTN, Newsmax and Press TV.

FNA has conducted an interview with Shakdam about the ongoing Saudi war on Yemen and possible motives behind the war imposed on the impoverished Arab country by Saudi Arabia and its western allies.

Below you will find the full text of the interview.

Q: What do you think about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen caused by the Saudi war and blockade on the country? What are the Saudis’ objectives in their war on Yemen?

A: The premise of Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is based on destruction and chaos. And if Riyadh has tried to rationalize its military aggression by claiming it wants to restore Yemen’s legitimate government, the many deaths and unprecedented targeting of civilians clearly prove otherwise.

Saudi Arabia is out to destroy the very idea of Yemen as a sovereign nation so that only its rule would prevail in the region. Just as Al Saud gave its name to the Hijaz, now known as Saudi Arabia, Al Saud wants to claim Yemen to its crown.

It is a pity the international community has stood by Riyadh’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. We ought to realize that it was Hitler who last used hunger as a weapon of war. This fact alone should make us pause as to the nature of Saudi Arabia’s intentions in Yemen. To think that such actions could be sanctioned by the international community in the name of political pragmatism and religious bigotry is outrageous.

Yemen has committed no crimes that could ever warrant such cruelty. But then again western capitals are not exactly known for abiding to those principles they claim to front: democratic empowerment, human rights and territorial integrity.

What has been done to Yemen is nothing short than a genocide. One wonders how far humanity has fallen when superpowers can justify murdering the innocent in the name of power.

Yemen’s war is the very definition of neo-imperialism and neo-conservatism.

Q: It seems that the Saudis expected an easy-to-win combat when they first stepped into the war. What do you think is the reason of Saudi Arabia’s continued failure in Yemen?

A: Saudi Arabia may have billions of dollars to throw at the world to buy fancy military technology and mercenaries to its cause, but it does not know how to fight a war. I would go as far as say that Saudi Arabia is not a nation in the sense that we understand it. Saudi Arabia is a land owned and governed by a tribal line whose cruelty has silenced all opposition.

Saudi Arabia was born in the desert of Nejd and has since imposed its violence to the region on the back of religious radicalism.

Saudi Arabia exists in the belief that it is indestructible. It thinks itself mightiest over nation. It is full of its own self-importance and so it believed that Yemen would be an easy prey to its hegemonic hunger. Saudi Arabia never once considered that Yemen was more than the poverty it was suffering under, and that behind such poverty lay a proud and brave people willing to defend their homeland and right to religious freedom with their lives.

Yemen is old. Yemen has a history and a civilization that stretches centuries and millennia. Yemen, Saudi Arabia should have learnt, was never once invaded and conquered by foreign hands. Yemenis never ever once tolerated for their future to be dictated by foreign powers. Yemen was dismissed on account of its poverty. Yemenis were dismissed on account world powers believed them to be ignorant. Yemen proved to be resilient beyond all resilience and Yemenis proved bravest and most patient in the face of adversity. Those are the qualities of a people that cannot be defeated.

Saudi Arabia will never win this war against Yemen. Yemenis have a bravery Saudis cannot fathom, let alone yield. The time of empires is truly over! Arrogance and ignorance led to Al Saud’s defeat in Yemen. I believe that Yemen will spell the end of Saudi Arabia as a regional power.

Q: Why do the US and the UK continue to supply Saudi Arabia with arms despite international criticism with regard to civilian casualties?

A: Unfettered capitalism. All the US and the UK see in Saudi Arabia is money, a mean to an end.

Both London and Washington could not care less about the millions of children and innocent civilians who stand to die under Riyadh’s fire. All those governments comprehend is profit.

Make no mistake the UK and the US are well aware of the heinous crimes being committed against the Yemeni people. Ignorance here is not the issue. It’s not like they don’t know but really that they don’t care. Yemenis do not matter in the face of the billions the US and the UK stand to make from arms sales. Let’s not be fooled by those lies state officials love to repeat to the public so they could pretend to have moral and ethic.

Q: Why have the international organizations, particularly the UN, remained passive in the face of the ongoing Saudi atrocities?

A: The better question would be “why do we continue to expect the UN to do anything when the UN is clearly under the thumb of war criminals and neocons?” The United Nations is an empty shell of an institution whose purpose today is to serve its wealthy masters – ie: Saudi Arabia.

It is folly to expect the UN to behave against the nature of its leadership. The UN is morally bankrupt. It has been for a long time since it refuses to act on principle to favor political elitism and selectivism.

Q: The Saudi-led coalition has recently increased its airstrikes on Yemen. These airstrikes have mostly killed Yemeni civilians, including thousands of women and children. What do you see as the reason for the airstrikes targeting civilians?

A: Riyadh wants to kill all opposition to its rule and if that means murdering 26 million people then that’s what it will do. There is no limits to the atrocities Al Saud are willing to commit, no lines they would not cross, no crimes they will not claim as righteous. Al Saud monarchy will be remembered as one of the most tyrannical and murderous in history. The ferocity of their hatred and violence is beyond human comprehension.

Q: Why does Riyadh continue to attack Yemen despite its failures and cash-strapped economy? What do you think about the future of the war?

A: The kingdom wants to win no matter what. Mohammed bin Salman is not exactly a model of rationality. His behavior is erratic at best. Saudi Arabia is being run to the ground by a decrepit elite of princes who are demonstrating clear signs of mental instability. When a mad man is at the wheel why look for logic in his actions?

As far as the war is concerned Yemen has already won. Saudi Arabia will soon face to its crimes and I doubt Yemenis will be kind in their calls for justice.

A grand jury on felony charges in the United States has indicted Aaron Cantu, a journalist, for participation in what is claimed to be riots covering the protest on inauguration day.

Arron Cantu is a writer at Santa Fe Reporter. He is one of the 230 people who were arrested on January 20 during the inauguration protests in Washington, D.C. Six other journalists were also detained the same day. The indictment will face Cantu with a 75-year prison.

The indictment accuses Cantu and some others of setting up riots and destroying the public properties. Part of the indictment says:

“Cantu, and other individuals participating in the Black Bloc, brought face masks, gas masks, and goggles to eliminate or mitigate the effectiveness of crowd control measures that might be used by law enforcement.”

Santa Fe Reporter rejected the accusations referring to the video foot ages from the protest showing Cantu “off to the side of the protests with other journalists, washing what appears to be pepper spray from his eyes.”

The defendants face an “unprecedented prosecution,” Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a human rights attorney and co-founder of Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, said last Monday: “We have not witnessed mass charges of this nature, charges that are completely inappropriate.”

Reports indicate that the defendants are put under pressure to take plea deals for having charges lessened. The plot is a way to softly oppress the movement through social justice in the United States.

The basis by which the government is prosecuting hundreds of people who protested Donald Trump’s inauguration is not that they themselves engaged in illegal activity. It’s really that they engaged in lawful journalistic activities, lawful free speech activities. Social movement in the United States have been revived after trump’s taking the office. Jail, long-time detention, and banning from social activities have been the ways to suppress the movements across the country.

“Riyadh would like to disappear all pluralism in Islam and as far as Wahhabis are concerned it begins with the disappearing of Shia Islam,” she said, regarding the situation in Bahrain.

“Saudi Arabia sits the evil in our midst, the Terror that has caused so many Bahrainis to be martyred and freedom squashed.”

In what follows, the full transcript of the interview is presented.

How do you evaluate the situation in Bahrain and the regime’s crackdown on dissent?

Catherine Shakdam: It is rather evident that the regime has completely lost control. Whenever excessive violence is used against one’s people to prevent change you can be sure that this regime is on its way out. To be fair al-Khalifa monarchy, its very system of governance was never sustainable – not when an elite sits on such much wealth as the majority wither away.

Al Khalifa failed long ago to recognize the opportunity protesters offered Manama when they peacefully called for reforms and fair political representation. Rather than understand that change was inevitable, al-Khalifa opted for abject violence with strong sectarian undertone. Rather than respect the will of its people al-Khalifa chose to follow into al-Saud’s steps in Riyadh by wielding murder.

Al-Khalifa monarchy lost the second it shot the first live bullet … today Manama is targeting Sheikh Issa Qassim for it no longer can handle the torrent of anger it unleashed. Needless to say that such move will only further solidify Bahrain’s Revolution and strengthen Bahrainis’ determination to claim their freedom against tyranny.

Has the country’s anti-government movement been successful in promoting democracy?

Catherine Shakdam: If you consider that demonstrators have operated within a system that is profoundly violent, sectarian and unfair I would say that Bahrain’s revolutionary movement has been an example of restraint. Where most people would have crumbled under pressure and resorted to violence to fight back, Bahrainis proved their commitment to democracy and the rule of law by offering resolve before cruelty.

A lot can be said of the character of Bahrain’s pro-democracy movement and those arms that carry it.

Since 2011 Bahrainis have remained true to their ideal, and that in itself is a victory over the brutality of tyrants. Violence comes easy, peaceful change requires strength and moral fiber.

What’s your take on the support al-Khalifa receives from the Trump administration?

Catherine Shakdam: Despicable! The simple fact that US President Donald Trump felt inclined to offer support to the likes of al-Khalifa after the regime committed so many documented atrocities goes to show how hypocritical America is when it comes to its stance on democracy and human rights.

America today is more interested in making money than standing up for its principles.

President Trump is acting according to Saudi Arabia’s wishes and Saudi Arabia wants Bahrain to remain under the dominion of Wahhabism.

How do you assess the role that Saudi Arabia plays in Bahraini regime’s crackdown on dissent? What does Riyadh want out of this conflict?

Catherine Shakdam: Riyadh wants what Riyadh always wanted and that is control. The kingdom is vying for complete regional control and any democratic awakening stand in opposition of that. And beyond that of course we need to consider the sectarian agenda Wahhabist Saudi Arabia has run since the 18th century. Riyadh would like to disappear all pluralism in Islam and as far as Wahhabis are concerned it begins with the disappearing of Shia Islam.

Saudi Arabia sits the evil in our midst, the Terror that has caused so many Bahrainis to be martyred and freedom squashed.

What’s your take on Sheikh Issa Qassim’s sentence and its consequences?

Catherine Shakdam: It is pitiful that Bahrain’s regime felt compelled to persecute a man whose life has been dedicated to serving God and the community. Sheikh Issa Qassim did not deserve to be treated like a criminal. He should never have been stripped of his nationality and whatever claims the regime has raised against his person are not only a lie but a fabrication.

Sheikh Issa Qassim has come to embody Bahrain’s Revolution and any attempt against his security will equate to an attack on Bahrain itself. Needless to say that Bahrainis will never tolerate for their Sheikh to be persecuted.

Al-Khalifa is walking a very fine line here, one that could end up costing the monarchy everything.

Catherine Shakdam is a political analyst, writer and commentator for the Middle East with a special focus on radical movements and Yemen.

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